Apology
by staryu
Summary: Makoto apologizes to Rei after the fake Senshi breakup in Sailor Moon Season 1.


Set right after Episode 43 of Sailor Moon (the one where Rei got the Moon Stick).

xxx

Rei sat praying in front of the sacred fire. A slight motion at the sliding doors, and her eyes snapped open, one hand instinctively sneaking into a sleeve to pull out an ofuda scroll. A look at who entered caused her shoulders to ease up somewhat, but her slow smile disappeared when she saw the _expression of the person who entered.

"Mako-chan? What's wrong?" She asked concernedly, looking at the downcast face of the senshi of thunder. "Did something happen?" A look of apprehension passed her face. "Is it Usagi or the other senshi? Are they alright?"

Makoto shook her head and managed to smile wanly. "The girls are okay. Rei-chan, I'm.... I just..."

"Yes?" Rei prompted, giving her a confused look. The girls knew that her meditation shouldn't be interrupted, and for Makoto to interrupt it, it had to be something big.

"Rei, I'm sorry for saying you hated Usagi, and for accusing you of wanting to be the leader of the senshi," Makoto blurted out, her words almost garbled in her haste.

Rei looked taken aback, and then she smiled at the younger girl. "It's okay. I..."

"No, it's not okay!" Makoto interrupted. "I should have known you loved Usagi as much as we did. The other girls knew! That accusation was unfair and mean, and you were..."

"You had reason enough, I suppose," Mars said softly. She smiled as she continued, "We are always fighting, after all."

"Still!" Makoto insisted.

"Still nothing." This time, it was Rei who interrupted. "We were worried about her, it's natural for us to say something like that."

"Arigatou." Makoto looked at the miko, who looked completely at peace, completely in contrast with her fiery personality at times. She opened her mouth as though to speak, and then closed it again. Rei, sensing something, looked at her in question. Finally, she spoke. "Rei, I don't know how you do it," she admitted.

"Do what?" Rei looked confused again.

"How do you do all of these? Being a miko, handling school, being a senshi... And..." Makoto struggled for words.

"And what?" Rei prompted.

"And I don't know how you do it," Makoto laughed softly, almost mockingly to herself. "I get jealous of you and Ami-chan sometimes. You two seem to have it together. While I..."

Rei laughed too. "I'm not as good as you might think," she admitted wryly. She walked out of the room and sat on the porch. Makoto took the cue and sat down beside her.

"Well..." Makoto laughed. "I don't know about that. How do you do it? Don't you get scared?"

"Of course I do," Rei said, her voice soft. "I just don't think I can show it to people. I'm not really good with feelings," Rei admitted.

"Could've fooled me," Makoto said, grinning, and Rei grinned too. "No, not like that. I don't really know how to deal with them, and that's why I shout and fight and get angry. Because I'm scared of losing you guys."

"Oh," was all Makoto could say, hearing the quiet sincerity in the miko's voice. After a minute, she spoke again, her voice hesitant. "I'm also afraid, Rei. I'm afraid of what would happen to us. I'm afraid that my powers..." And here she paused.

"That your powers might hurt other people too?" Rei asked. Her intuition proved correct, and Makoto gave her a grateful nod. "I know what you mean. I was afraid of that too, I still am, but it gets better after a while.."

Makoto smiled at the miko. "Thanks. I knew you would understand, since..." An embarassed look passed her face.

"Since we both have destructive powers?" Rei asked, grinning. "Don't worry, I know what you mean. Lightning and fire are scary enough, even without being controlled like we do it. One wrong move, and we could kill someone. That's why we have to be careful, maybe more than Ami and Mina's. Theirs is controlled, with ours, a lot of things could go wrong if we're not careful. Scary thought, isn't it?" Makoto nodded, as Rei continued. "I just... I think these powers were given to us for a reason though. Maybe whoever gave us this knew we had the strength to do it, and we have to trust that, as much as they trusted us when they gave us these. They must know we will be using it in the right way."

"Yeah, I guess..." Makoto said slowly. She stood up, and Rei followed her action. She gave the miko a smile and a hug. "Thank you for listening, Rei-chan."

"Anytime," Rei said, smiling back. "Oh, and Makoto?"

"Yep?"

"Don't tell Usagi that I'm scared for her, or I'll have to burn you."

Makoto laughed. "If you say so."


End file.
